Painting that sat behind sofa for 30 years might be a Michelangelo

An unfinished painting of Jesus and Mary that sat behind a family's sofa near Buffalo for almost 30 years might be a lost Michelangelo worth a fortune, the New York Postreports.

To the family of retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Martin Kober, their artwork, known as The Lost Pieta, was simply called "The Mike." Sent to America in 1883 by a family member, the painting had hung in the Kobers' living room for years until being knocked down by a tennis ball sometime in the mid-1970s. It then went into storage — wrapped up and stuck behind the sofa.

After retiring in 2003, Kober began researching the 25-by-19-inch painting on a wood panel. An art historian was skeptical — until he saw it.

"I had assumed it was going to be a copy," said Antonio Forcellino, whose book La Pieta Perduta has been published in Italy and is due out next year in the states. "In reality, this painting was even more beautiful than the versions hanging in Rome and Florence. The truth was this painting was much better than the ones they had. I had visions of telling them that there was this crazy guy in America telling everyone he had a Michelangelo at home."

Infrared and X-ray examinations show alterations and unfinished portions, proving it's not a copy, he said.

A Michelangelo expert estimated its value at "millions and millions," which explains why Kober has moved his 500-year-old sofa painting to a bank vault.

Update at 5:39 p.m. ET: Credit for this story should go to the Buffalo News, which reported it Friday. Also, Kober lives nearer to Niagara Falls than to Buffalo. Apologies and hat tip to the old hometown paper.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

About Doug Stanglin

Doug is an unrepentant news junkie who loves breaking news and has been known to watch C-SPAN even on vacation. He has covered a wide range of domestic and international news stories, from prison riots in Oklahoma to the Moscow coup against Mikhail Gorbachev. Doug previously served as foreign editor at USA TODAY. More about Doug

About Michael Winter

Michael Winter has been a daily contributor to On Deadline since its debut in January 2006. His journalism career began in the prehistoric Ink Era, and he was an early adapter at the dawn of the Digital Age. His varied experience includes editing at the San Jose Mercury News and The Philadelphia Inquirer.